DECam’s New Image of the Sombrero Galaxy: A Portrait of Ancient Mergers

The Sombrero Galaxy hanging in space like it belongs there. The galaxy is one of the most picturesque known, and is recognizable by its extended central bulge and dusty streak on its rim. Less noticeable is its stellar stream, which comes from the bottom and sweeps down to t the right. It's a popular target for amateur and professional astronomers. Image Credit: CTIO/NOIRLab/DOE/NSF/AURA
Image Processing: T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF NOIRLab), D. de Martin & M. Zamani (NSF NOIRLab)

The 570 megapixel Dark Energy Camera captured this image of the iconic Sombrero Galaxy. The galaxy has characteristics of both elliptical galaxies and spiral galaxies, and is likely the result of multiple mergers and cannibalizations of dwarf galaxies. A faint stellar stream, only fully traced a few years ago, is revealed by DECam’s resolving power.